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In Depth

Disney-ABC, Raimi Link on ‘Wizard’ for Fall Syndication

Sam Raimi will executive produce “Wizard’s First Rule,” a new first-run, live-action series that Disney-ABC Domestic Television is launching in the syndication marketplace for a fall 2008 launch. Janice Marinelli, president of Disney-ABC Domestic Television, announced the series today at…

Marie Osmond Gets Fall ’09 Talk Show

Marie Osmond, recently seen tapping her toes in “Dancing With the Stars,” will return to center stage, agreeing to a deal with syndicator Program Partners for upcoming daytime talk show “Marie,” set to launch in fall 2009. “I like the…

Litton Clears ‘Storm’ in 70% of U.S.

Independent distributor Litton Entertainment announced today that “Storm Stories,” an unscripted series based on raw footage of extreme weather, has cleared 70% of U.S. stations. Set to launch this fall, the off-cable series from the Weather Channel features customizable format…

Shine’s Murdoch to Keynote at Mip/MILIA

Elisabeth Murdoch, chairman-CEO of U.K. producer Shine, will deliver the keynote speech at this year’s Mip TV Featuring MILIA on April 7. This year’s event, with the theme “Audiences on the Move,” will focus on the latest global developments in…

Endemol Gets ‘Buzzed’ With Metacafe

Production company Endemol USA is producing an online game show in partnership with popular video Web site Metacafe, the companies announced today. The show, called “Buzzed,” will feature impromptu, man-on-the-street interviews with bar and nightclub patrons answering general-interest and pop…

YouTube Viewership Up Slightly for Week

YouTube’s audience grew for the first time in two weeks when it reached 30.3 million viewers for the week ending Jan. 20. That’s up from 29.7 million unique users for the week ending Jan. 13, according to Nielsen Online. MSN…

WGA Strike Roundup: Tuesday, Jan. 29

WGA, Studios Narrowing Gap in Informal Talks The Writers Guild of America and the networks and studios Monday moved closer to outlining an agreement after a week of informal talks, narrowing the gap on issues such as dividing earnings from…

Tremor Media Links With Digitalsmiths

Online video ad network Tremor Media has partnered with video ad targeting firm Digitalsmiths to offer contextually relevant ads to the more than 800 Web sites in Tremor’s network, the companies announced today. Tremor reaches more than 92 million unique…

Grammys Makes Deal With Writers

The Writers Guild of America has spared another awards show, the Grammys, a picket line by granting the music awards telecast an interim agreement. “Professional musicians face many of the same issues that we do concerning fair compensation for the…

2007 Rookies Chalk Up Strong Renewals

The announcement of the second-season renewal for “Merv Griffin’s Crosswords” has all but wrapped up speculation at NATPE on the status of this year’s crop of rookies for fall 2008. It looks like the 2007-08 syndication season may become the…